Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnewsl!nora
From: nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: INDOOR: biting conure
Summary: agression breeds agression
Keywords: aggression breeds aggression
Message-ID: <3385@cbnewsl.ATT.COM>
Date: 20 Dec 89 21:03:56 GMT
References: <3358@cbnewsl.ATT.COM> <12287@cbnewsd.ATT.COM>
Distribution: usa
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 35

In article <12287@cbnewsd.ATT.COM>, heneghan@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (joseph.t.heneghan) writes:
> In article <3358@cbnewsl.ATT.COM> nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) writes:
> I suspect that you were responding to my response. I was not trying
> to be sarcastic. I just feel that negative reinforcement for bad
> behaviour is appropriate for both birds and people. What's wrong with
> aggressive behaviour?...it's still communicative. You can allways
> read the title of an article and then not read the article because you
> really don't care about the subject matter. 
> 
> Anyway, I try to be gentle with my bird. If he bites, he gets bopped,
> not hard, but enough to let him know that his behaviour was unacceptable.
> He has done just fine in this environment. In fact he's learning to
> talk (from what I've read, wouldn't happen if the bird was unhappy). We're
> working on "hello". He'll only say it when prompted, but he's getting 
> clearer all the time. This is really exciting for me. I've never taught
> a bird to talk. I've only taught children (sometimes I wish I had not).
> 				Merry Christmas,
> 				Joe heneghan

Joe, I used to get into hitting my bird, and my dog, and what I found
out was when I began using hand signals with my dog, sometimes, she
would mistake it for me going to hit her.  I just firmly believe that
you don't want your animal afraid of your hand no matter what.  There
are other ways to discipline.  F of correcting a
bird or dog, (I realize I am talking to you about a bird), and in the
case of the bird, also, dropping your hand quickly as I read on an
earlier post, is very effective.  I guess I jumped around alot in this
paragraph, but just want to emphasize that you don't want your animal
no matter what it is to be afraid of your hanHave you ever noticed
put your
hand to your bird and see it kind of just open its beak like he is 
going to bite you?  Well maybe not , but if you do, that is the bird
going into self defense mode, waiting for the smack.
This I my opinion and my experience.
Nora